


Grief

by PeachTale



Series: OTPtober [3]
Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Death of a loved one, Developing Friendships, Gen, Leorio Needs a Hug, supportive Hisoka
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-03
Updated: 2020-10-03
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:55:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26795467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachTale/pseuds/PeachTale
Summary: Leorio knew that Kurapika was going to go against the Phantom Troupe, to fight Chrollo to the death the avenge his clan, he just never thought about his friend dying afterwards.So here he was, in the morgue, looking at his friends body, trying to take in the realisation that this was real, this was him was hard. Even worse when the people he fought were also there too, and then in comes a familiar face, at least he seems familiar but Leorio can't place him just yet.
Relationships: Hisoka & Leorio Paladiknight, Hisoka/Illumi Zoldyck, Kurapika/Leorio Paladiknight
Series: OTPtober [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1947526
Comments: 7
Kudos: 41





	Grief

Angst/Hurt Comfort

They had travelled by air, boat and finally by foot to get to their final destination, they reached Lukso Province the land where Kurapika was born in, the land that was stained with the blood of the Kurta clan leaving one lone survivor. The land that would be taking back the final Kurta member into it’s folds, to be reunited with the rest of the clan as he wanted it to be, after he finally gotten to avenge everyone’s deaths.

A tall dark haired man bit his lip and then fell to his knees, the emotional toil of being here had finally caught up with him. He thought he had done so well before, he had been able to make jokes – bad one’s but still – and he acted like this wasn’t affecting him.

But it did.

It hurt _so_ bad.

He wasn’t sure how he actually managed to keep up the pretence for so long. Not that it mattered any more, he was kneeling in the dirt path, tears rolling down his cheeks as he had finally come to the end of this journey with Kurapika.

His companion on this journey stood a suitable distance away from him, remaining silent and just watched him cry into the dirt. What could he possibly say to him in this moment after all? He personally had no real connection to the last Kurta after all, but Leorio had and he was here because the man needed some kind of stability right now, he needed someone to just keep him going to the end of the journey instead of getting distracted, instead of try to avoid it completely because it was too painful. The two men experienced a loss that was binding, a loss that was meant to happen, a loss that would link them in such an unusual way that they couldn’t explain it if anyone were to ask them how they became friends.

Because how did you tell people that death brought you together? Or the death of a friend was the link between you, for different reasons.

“So...” Leorio began to wipe his face and started to stand up, only for a large hand to rest on his shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze and he looked to see that the red haired man was next to him.

There was an unusual solemn look on his face, one that was ill-suited on the face of the eccentric magician.

“There is still time Leorio, the other’s still need to arrive.” he reminded him.

All he could do was nod and look down feeling that hand leave his shoulder, a glance from the corner of his eye showed that the man had returned to his distant position again, letting Leorio have his tearful breakdown in relative peace. Brown eyes looked at the golden urn in his hands, containing the ashes of his friend and he still couldn’t believe that he was actually gone.

Leorio usually considered him to be rather smart out of the four close friends, in fact he tended to regard himself and Kurapika rather high – though the blonde did seem to think he was still of a higher rank than Leorio, just to get under his skin.

It was early evening when he got the call from a local hospital, he had been written down as the next of kin on Kurapika’s papers and he was asked to come down as soon as possible. At first Leorio though that the blonde was just injured, possibly seriously and while he was worried he wasn’t overly stressed about it, but he didn’t expect _this_.

He was ushered into a small dark room, his subconscious warning him of what was going to happen, but he ignored it, he had hope it was just Kurapika being operated on. He foolishly hoped for the best and the truth hit his _hard_.

While most people would have wailed, cried, fall to the floor in complete disbelief and grief at hearing such news, as well as possibly deny that it was the truth, he was alive and the doctors were mistaken, Leorio did none of that, it was like he had put a shutter between himself and his emotions.

His mind took him back to when he had last spoke to Kurapika, the blonde had phoned him to let him know about the plan he had set in motion, he was going to finally do it. He would bring down the Phantom Troupe and avenge his clan, Leorio had tried to persuade him to allow him to join him, so at least he would be around to deal with his injuries.

“ _I’d rather know that you were able to see me after the battle.”_ he had sounded so calm as he spoke, as though he were confident in winning this fight.

“ _But you can’t take them all on by yourself!”_ he had tried to argue, because the Phantom Troupe were wanted by so many and yet no one had ever taken them down before. Perhaps a few of the members but never the whole group.

 _Don’t worry Leorio, I have help.”_ Kurapika had assured him, trying to calm his friend who was desperate for him to have more people join in on the fight.

“ _At least let me...”_

“ _I know, thank you for the offer but we’ll be fine as we are, honest.”_

Those were the last words that he would ever hear him say, and thinking back on it, he _wished_ he had said more to him than just:

“ _All right, well good luck.”_

He wished he had thought to tell him how good a friend he was to him, even if he wasn’t the best with staying in touch, he was still supportive of him, helped to calm him down when he got riled up. He wondered why he never thought about Kurapika coming back to him, to his _friends_ alive.

“I want to see him.” he spoke without any emotion in his voice, is eyes void of any hint that the doctor could get to understand why Leorio was thinking during this moment.

Instead he just nodded and lead the way down to the morgue. As he followed the doctor, he was still processing the fact that Kurapika was dead, it just didn’t feel like it was true, he just never considered Kurapika dying from the battle. He had such faith in the other man’s skills, he believed he would do it and kill as many of the Troupe as he could, he figured that if he was being overwhelmed he would retreat and continue the task another day.

The metal doors lead the way to the morgue and Leorio followed the doctor into the cold room.

He saw on the metal gurney, covered in a thin sheet his friend, Kurapika Kurta. His body had been washed, the injuries he had sustained didn’t seem to be noticeable but Leorio knew the worst was hidden beneath the sheet and he wasn’t going to go looking for it. He couldn’t.

Kurapika looked so cold, like he needed a heavier blanket, warm clothes and a warm cup of tea. He felt a pain begin the ache inside of him, a pain he hadn’t felt in a _long_ time, ever since he friend had died but this time it felt so much worse that it had then.

Or maybe it was due to time passing, making Leorio distancing himself from the sharp pain which was now wanting to overwhelm him now.

The doctor left him alone, he had spoken but Leorio didn’t hear anything he said, his gaze remained on the man before him, he couldn’t believe it was true, he felt himself ready to fall to pieces as a part of him hoped that he would sit up groggily and demand a blanket and clothes.

He looked over to the side, seeing _them_ , the dead bodies of the Troupe members and he felt a wave of utter rage sweet over him that they would be _here_ too. That they were in the same room as Kurapika, he wanted them gone, to leave, even though he knew it was irrational to demand they be taken out. They killed him, of course he had also killed them too so it did balance out didn’t it?

If Leorio had just been there, if he had physically been there alongside Kurapika would he have been able to prevent this from happening? Or would he have just been an added body to join Kurapika in the morgue?

The _what ifs_ continued to play over and over in his mind as his gaze returned to the blonde before him, until the metal doors swing open again and he heard quiet voices speak, hearing their shoes walk towards the Troupe members and he took a glance over to see the doctor and a police office, only they were joined by a tall red haired man who began to give names to each body, along with the cities they were from.

The man had a mullet and yet to Leorio he was familiar, eerily family but he just couldn’t place him, but his _voice_ was the biggest clue as to who he was, but it still took him a moment as his brain worked slowly to finally figure it out.

Brown eyes widened as he realised who the man was, he looked so different from all the other times he had seen him. Without the face paint, his hair not being slicked back and his clothes lacking the eccentric nature that seemed to be the true nature of the man before him.

“Hisoka?” he spoke his name quietly, after he had finished identifying the bodies and the officer quickly left, while the doctor spoke to him before he also left the room. It was just the two of them now.

Those golden eyes looked over at him and he saw something unusual in those eyes, something he hadn’t see in them before and he wasn’t sure if he was just seeing things or if it was actually an emotion the man was feeling.

“ _Doctor_.” he nodded over to him, glancing at the Troupe once more, his eyes never lingered on them for too long until they came to stop at the Zoldyck brothers.

Leorio was certain that the emotion he saw in those eyes was _sorrow_ , but he couldn’t be too sure when it came to Hisoka if he was sorry they were dead, or if it was something else. It was strange, shouldn’t the man just identify the bodies and be on his way? He didn’t have a real connection with the Troupe, he just joined to fight Chrollo, so why was he here? Why was he taking up space that Leorio needed to just… he didn’t know how to deal with these feelings that wanted to overwhelm him.

When his friend had died when he was a child, he had vowed to become a doctor so that everyone could get to medication they needed, but this wasn’t something he could change and twist to make sure no one had to go through this again. He couldn’t avenge Kurapika, he did that on his own.

Golden eyes looked at Kurapika. “He knew it was a death trap.”

Leorio turned to look at him, realising that _Hisoka_ was the one who was the one helping the blonde to fight the Troupe, to aid him in toppling the Spiders. The news stung, but he reminded himself that the red head was strong, he had incredible fighting skills and while he had been defeated by Chrollo he had just gotten stronger after that fight.

“And you never thought to… of course you wouldn’t, you wanted them dead too.” he couldn’t keep the bitterness from seeping into his words while Hisoka looked at him and nodded.

“Yet he had wanted to avenge his clan for a long time. He wanted justice since no one else was going to do it, and very few would be capable of toppling them.”

Leorio knew that Kurapika wouldn’t let it rest, he had already gathered the eyes, all the remains were sent to Lukso Province and the man didn’t feel like he had anything more to live for other than to avenge his family, to bring them peace. Although whether for the souls of the dead or for Kurapika himself, Leorio wasn’t sure.

Yet Leorio never though that just two people would take out the whole Troupe, he knew that Hisoka had worked with Kurapika before, but that had just been to gain intel rather than fighting side by side and given how badly injured he had been after his fight, Leorio though he would keep a low profile.

Of course Hisoka had contacted Kurapika for aid, just to find some nen doctors, which meant Leorio helped out too, getting the man the help he needed to return to his work, although it had been a slow process to begin with, but Hisoka was rather patient, still going out and killing even though he kept a far lower profile than he ever had before.

“How did you manage it?” he quietly asked, because he needed to know, he needed to know how it began and how it ended. He looked at the peaceful looking Kurta and wished he could just hear his voice one more time. “You fought Chrollo before and you lost.”

He didn’t see the smile appear on his lips. “He is a difficult man to defeat when he is aware of an upcoming fight, if he had more control over the time and venue then he has more to gain. Kurapika warned him and the Troupe of what was going to happen, he sent messages to them and doing that the Troupe gave up their abilities to him so he would be able to fight against him.” his eyes returned to the Zoldycks, looking longingly at the eldest. “Well nearly all of them did. But that just meant that they fell, easily too. Their desire to protect the head of the Spider was stronger than their own will to live. Such a shame really.” he now turned to look at Leorio again as he sighed softly. “They didn’t consider that someone else could take the role as head Spider, though perhaps none of them wanted the role or…” he looked over at the pink haired woman with a slight frown. “None of them felt qualified to do so. A specialist nen user can be rather charming after all, able to get people to do their bidding without the need to prove themselves. Chrollo never really cared much about them sacrificing themselves for him, he just expected the same in return.”

“How do you know all that? I know you were part of the Troupe but...”

Golden eyes looked at him. “We weren’t close, obviously, but they were so easy to read.” Leorio nodded for him to continue. “The basic plan was for us to take the legs of the Spiders first, we’d split it evenly and then we would after Chrollo. Yet Kurapika never took into account the fact that they wouldn’t have nen to fight against us, of course they are still skilled in combat but fighting someone without nen just isn’t a challenge. He went off the fight Chrollo and I dealt with the rest. All except one fell rather quickly.” he smiled before licking his lips as he relived the fight and Leorio felt rather uneasy, _why_ was he smiling after killing people, even if they were also killers, why was he smiling?

“All except one?” he shook his head, wanting more about the fight that included Kurapika. “So once they were defeated what about Chrollo and Kurapika?”

Hisoka looked at the dead body in front of them both. “It was a glorious fight, he wanted to kill Chrollo but only by his own hands, so he refused to let me take part.” he sighed. “If he had allowed me to take part, maybe he could have lived.”

“And he didn’t make a… nen contract?” Leorio asked, only because that was the sole reason how Hisoka was alive now, how he had actually died and his nen brought him back to life.

“No, he stated that he wouldn’t dishonour his clan in such a way. Stubborn… I knew someone like that too.” his gazed went to Illumi and Leorio wondered just what his relationship was to the eldest Zoldyck, was it meaningful in some way? Or was that impossible for a man such as him?

“Were you close to...” Leorio finally asked, because maybe if Hisoka was hurting too, they could understand each other’s pain.

“Not exactly. Not like you had with Kurapika.” he told him as he carefully examined Illumi’s stitched up face and neck, he had clearly lost an eye too which made his face look rather horrific though Hisoka still looked upon him with such a tender gaze that Leorio looked away from him, to let him have a private moment. “Illumi never switched off from his duties, whether it be to the family or as an assassin.”

“I remember.” Leorio remembered just how quick he had been, how scared he was of the eldest Zoldyck sibling and unable to see how Killua was actually related to him.

“Their parents used the two eldest brothers as guinea pigs to try out different methods of raising the perfect heir to lead the family business. One was too cold, lacking emotion to understand human nature, while the other… it’s understandable why Killua was name the heir. Of course by rebelling Killua risked the _honour_ to be passed down to his younger brother.” he gestured to the smaller body that lay next to Illumi and Leorio now realised just how young he looked.

He felt sick that a _child_ was allowed to not only join the Troupe, but that _Hisoka_ had killed him. The boy looked about the same age as Gon did when he first met him, although the boy was part of the Zoldyck family it was likely he knew that death was waiting for him around every corner given the family reputation.

“You still killed them.” he said as if that would make a difference to Hisoka.

“Kalluto had given his nen abilities to Chrollo, just like the other’s. He was a willing member of the Troupe, if I didn’t kill him then Kurapika would have. Illumi however...” he smiled and licked his lips once more. “He had a contract to kill me, he couldn’t protect his brother while on the job after all, the Zoldycks place their contracts above the lives of their family.”

“That’s so… cold.” Leorio knew the kind of person that Illumi was, but he just couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that the whole family placed money above the lives of a family member.

“Illumi wasn’t loyal to Chrollo, he was just using the Troupe as a way to finish the contract against me. Chrollo was aware of that fact but still allowed him to join.”

“Couldn’t he have done that without joining them?”

“It would have been foolish of him to not join, it would be a guaranteed way to get me since I was going after the Troupe.”

Leorio glanced at Kurapika again. “But who would put a hit against you? Who would be that stupid?”

He and Kurapika had spoken about Illumi and Hisoka, many about how powerful they were, but he had wondered who would win in a fight between them. He had originally thought that they would both die, they seemed rather even in terms of skills but he didn’t think _this_ was how it would end. Yet he realised that who ever put a hit on him must either be a Hunter who noticed that he was still listed as being alive, _or_ one of the Troupe, but Leorio doubted the Troupe would hire someone to kill him, much less let them _join_ the group.

“Oh that was me.” he said easily and never noticed the stunned look on Leorio’s face. “I put the hit on myself as it was the only way for us to finally fight. Should Illumi have killed me, he would get everything I own and if he failed...” he gestured to the dead man. “Well...”

“You are a strange man.” Leorio wasn’t sure what to think, he was certain that Hisoka was somewhat upset and sad that Illumi was dead, but then there were moments when it seemed like he didn’t care at all.

“Kurapika said the same thing when ever we would meet.” Hisoka spoke fondly of the dead man as he looked at him. “He had so much potential, yet even with the power he had he was still able to...” he remembered the battle, the emotions that ran high, the raw power that came from the two men, the blood that was spilt across the ground by both of them.

He doubted he would forget the look on Chrollo’s face when he realised that the blonde wasn’t going to give up, he was using everything he had to kill him. Hisoka could imagine that he was regretting removing two of the former Troupes abilities from his book.

“Yet he’d rather die for honour instead of living.” the bitterness seeped through his words again, he cursed how stubborn Kurapika was.

Yet he looked down at him, seeing his uncovered hand and reached out to touch him only to have a pale hand stop him from doing so. He looked up at him. “What...”

“ _Don’t_. Trust me when I say that you do not want to have that in your memories of him.”

As Leorio looked into those eyes, he realised that not just Hisoka made many dead bodies throughout his life, but clearly he had touched the dead body of someone that he _cared_ about, a memory that would haunt him and not be so easy to repress if he ever was reminded of that person.

“You could find yourself forgetting what they felt like when they were alive, their scent, all of that will be pushed away for the memory of their cold flesh in your own warm hands, a memory that will forever be linked to them. Of course it might be a good thing, to remind you that they are dead, but for someone who is special to you, would you really risk it?” Hisoka continued on, as if his eyes hadn’t given him away.

“That happened to you.” Leorio just said it, he felt numb, his emotions still being held at bay by the shutter that had been closed between them, yet he knew it wouldn’t last, everything would fall apart eventually it was just a case of _when_.

Hisoka stilled, realising that he had revealed information that he never told _anyone_ before, yet here they were, in a morgue with the bodies of those who had died in combat and he was the lone survivor, the lone killer who made it out. He was giving comfort to someone who was nearing to falling apart and he hadn’t even realised it.

“Yes, as a child.” he revealed a little bit more, just so the man had something to keep a hold of for a little while longer.

Hisoka wasn’t the person to comfort other’s, but he was here now and Leorio needed someone _now_. He had been there after all, he saw it, heard it and _felt it_ all. He sighed before continuing. “The memory of their death will never go away, even though the sorrowful pain dims over time.”

The dark haired man nodded, he knew that, he had gone through that already but it was nice to be reminded by someone who had a pain similar to his own. “What will happen to them?” he asked, gesturing to the bodies of the Troupe, because he would take care of Kurapika.

“The Spiders are wanted criminals, they won’t be claimed, they will be buried in an unmarked grave. The Zoldycks will of course collect the bodies of their sons, using the connections they have to bury them in the family plot. As far as officials are aware, this was a surprise attack _on_ Kurapika.” he told him with a slight smile. “Who fought them off and killed them all.”

“Why aren’t you mentioned? And how do you know...”

I overheard another officer on my way down, that’s what they believe happened. No one was around, a good samaritan called in about the fight, but help didn’t arrive in time.”

Leorio had a feeling that the good samaritan was actually Hisoka. “Was there… was there any chance that...”

“Kurapika held out the longest, although Chrollo attempted to use a nen ability to heal himself...” he grinned and Leorio knew that while his friend defeated Chrollo, _Hisoka_ was the one who dealt the killing blow. “His family, his clan has been avenged.”

“And you...”

“I made sure he was dead before he could heal himself, it wasn’t as satisfying as it would have been to fight him again, but Kurapika wouldn’t be able to fight him again and I wasn’t willing to let him leave alive.” he paused and Leorio just looked at him, wanting to know more. “If I had managed to get help for him, the moment he learned that Chrollo was dead those red eyes dimmed. He was willing to die after completing his goal, and even reminding him of his friends wasn’t enough...”

Leorio was surprised to hear him say that, though he knew that Hisoka could be lying but it didn’t feel like the type of lie he would tell, there was nothing for him to gain from this lie after all.

“His clan comes first.” he knew Kurapika too well, he knew that he would rather die and be reunited with his family and friends instead of coming back to be around the people he had met and who cared about him in the present, his new family who wanted him to return to them _alive_ , yet…

“Even if I were to use my Bungee Gum to stem the blood flow, he would have died before help arrived, there were too many injuries for me to deal with.” Hisoka continued on, and then prompted by the guilty look in those brown eyes when Leorio heard of his first aid skills. “It wouldn’t have made any difference had you been there. His injuries were from Chrollo, he should have died long before Chrollo did but he was too stubborn to give up.”

Leorio laughed bitterly, because didn’t that sum him up. “He always _was_.” he felt his eyes begin to sting, knowing that it was the tears that wanted to fall, wanted to be let out in the open after being locked inside him for so long, but he couldn’t. He still had things to do, he needed to call Gon and Killua, as well as Melody too.

He needed to figure out how to get to Lukso Province so that he could actually be reunited with his family.

His knees gave way and he fell to the ground while his fists were pressed against his eyes to try and keep the tears inside for a little while longer, he needed to stop his emotions from leaking out of him. He had to keep it together, until everyone knew what had happened and then he could go back to his apartment and _then_ fall apart. Wallow in the knowledge that his friend had died completing his life goal.

And he had never considered the fall out that would happen after he died.

“Let’s get a drink, you could use one.” Hisoka finally spoke, but there was no teasing within his tone, nothing that suggested that he was being anything other than serious.

The magician was well aware the man was barely holding it together, knowing that it was all going to come out eventually and he would be better off having someone around him when the dam finally burst. He imagined the person who was normally the anchor during this was Kurapika, but now the Kurta wasn’t here so who should take his place? It shouldn’t be Hisoka, but who else was there?

He held out his hand towards him, an offering to help him up and Leorio took it without a thought, being brought back to his feet.

“Am...” he began speak as they left the morgue, leaving behind their friends without another look, if Leorio did he wouldn’t leave.

“That doesn’t matter does it?” Hisoka practically read his mind, they had never let go of each other’s hands as they moved through the hospital, moving away from death that had surrounded them in the morgue.

Leorio couldn’t help but be reminded of his friend’s death, as well as almost losing Gon and he dreaded to think about losing Killua too. It made him wonder if _he_ was cursed, was this his fault? That the people he grew close to died because of him? If he hadn’t become friends with them would they be alive, would they have never had that kind of near death experience?

Once they were outside the hospital and he breathed in the warm fragrant air of a world that was very much alive, a world that kept on going even with death surrounding them at every moment, because what other choice did they have really?

“I guess a drink wouldn’t hurt.” he finally said as a tear trickled down his cheek, though a small smile appeared on his lips as Hisoka continued to lead the way, he thought about how Kurapika would have berated him for partaking in underage drinking.

The red head simply nodded, not commenting on the weeping man whose hand he still held, he wasn’t going to let go unless Leorio pulled away.

Right now they needed to find a bar and drown their sorrows.

A few hours had passed, after they arrived, Leorio’s stopped as the other’s arrived, Melody being the first to arrive and with a cautious glance over at the red haired Hunter, she made her way over to Leorio where they waited for Killua and Gon who arrived not long after.

Finally Leorio opened the urn after a look at the other three, releasing the ashes onto the Kurta clan’s homeland. There was no speech, there was no need to have one, the four of them stood together as the ashes were carried away on the breeze, they stood and watched in silence tears trailed down their faces, Leorio thought he had cried enough, surely there was no more tears to follow, but his body clearly had plenty more to bring out of him.

They spoke of the past, of their individual times with Kurapika, and then they spoke of the fight against the Phantom Troupe that took him away from them.

Leorio called over to Hisoka to join them, and he did, although instead of standing near Gon, he moved to stand between Leorio and Melody.

“If he had told us his plan we could have helped.” Gon said, tears still running down his face and he didn’t care, because no one here was an enemy, everyone was here for Kurapika and his memory.

“He wanted to face Chrollo on his own, would any of you have let him?” Hisoka asked them all, he knew the answer already. “He knew the risks, he knew that you all joining him would mean a chance to live but his goal was the avenge his clan.”

It was odd for Gon and Killua to hear this serious Hisoka talk, so devoid of his more teasing, flirty tone. Right now the man before them wasn’t a magician or murderer, but a man who hurting in his own way and who was trying to aid them through their grief as best as he was able to.

Leorio was the only one who knew that Hisoka wasn’t here because of Kurapika, at least not like the rest of them were, after all the two of them had been working together they weren’t friends. He was grieving over Illumi, his only friend and partner of sorts, and it had been so long since he had felt this kind of emotion, it was nearly foreign. _Nearly_ because Hisoka was quick to link it to where he had felt it before, remembering the intense pain he had felt as a child.

The two men had found themselves drawn to each other even after the events that had occurred, Leorio would sometimes find himself starting to fall apart again and Hisoka would appear, letting him just fall to pieces and he would piece him back together again. Even when they were around each other physically, they were still able to talk to each other, to be the support system that they both needed, Leorio more than Hisoka but still the red head needed a little bit more support from time to time, usually when he had to remind himself that Illumi wasn’t going to throw a needle at him from the shadows, that he wouldn’t have such a straight-laced partner to tease and taunt until bloodlust was achieved.

Leorio found himself being able to read the man, although not very well, but since Hisoka had so many different masks and a lot of layers to go through, it was a bit of an achievement as he managed to notice little things about him. How he would shuffle his cards in a certain way, or even just looking at a particular card for longer than the other’s.

He knew that Hisoka wouldn’t be part of his friend group that he had with Gon and Killua, but he did know that he had his own bond with him and he wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Yet he hadn’t felt threatened by him, hadn’t had the voice of Kurapika in his ear warning him to keep away from him, if anything the voice told him to keep befriending the rather eccentric man.

All of them had lost someone important to them, someone they would remember for as long as they lived, someone who served as a lesson of sorts. They wouldn’t keep looking back, they would look forward and live their lives as they wanted to.

They would be free and they would honour the memory of their friend who wished to return to his family.  
  
  



End file.
